Recently, the smartphone giant OnePlus has launched another new TWS earbuds under their Nord branding, Nord Buds CE, which means a budget earbud aimed at the masses. As we know, the Rs.2k price segment for TWS earbuds is one of the most heated segments, especially for people who want a reliable offering to last for a few years down the line.
While we have personally reviewed a lot of Rs.1k TWS earbuds launched in recent years, suddenly the market has taken a shift from its Rs.2k price segment. However, if you are a OnePlus fan and its products, you should definitely have a look at their Nord Buds, which I reviewed a few months back and if you still cannot afford this new Nord Buds CE is a nice option.
Specifications of OnePlus Nord Buds CE
The OnePlus Nord Buds CE has officially been launched at ₹2,299 and can be available on both the OnePlus India store and Flipkart.
From its design the Nord Buds CE looks almost like that of the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro, however, the features seem to be improved. Now, there’s a bigger 13.4 mm Titanium-coated dynamic driver than a 12.4 mm on the Nord Buds, giving a better sound quality.
Coming to the connectivity, you have the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and OnePlus Fast Pair options that help for everyday usage. The buds weigh only 3.5 grams and come with the same Sound Master Equalizer you saw on the OnePlus Nords while having 94ms ultra-low latency.
So, the retail box of this TWS earbuds will come with 1 Pair of Earbuds with a Charging Case, User Guide, Safety and Warranty Card, Brand Sticker, Charging Cable, and Red Cable Club Welcome Card. This is the same pack of contents as we saw with the original OnePlus Nord Buds and the other two important specs we got are a 10m Bluetooth range and 20 hours of playtime.
Yes, this is a drop from the 30 hours of playtime you get on the Nord Buds, still, if the new OnePlus Nord Buds CE with offers and bank discounts can be reduced to Rs.2k, then this is a good option. Also, those who need a reliable TWS earbuds with modern features in the same price segment should have a look at this, it is available in two colors – Moonlight White and Misty Grey.
Design and Build Quality
In terms of design, OnePlus has tried to make it look a bit different than the Nord Buds, now looking more tapering and sharing the same design language as Airpods. Personally, I find this design much more usable over the regular Nord Buds but obviously, this is more of a subjective kind of thing.
It is even lightweight which is great for everyday users but the outer case looks much more generic than before and has similarities with the Realme and Oppo earbuds. However, the buds themselves are lighter but look generic and cheap though but are functional as well as easy to fit into your ears.
Considering the build quality, it is satisfying to open and close the magnetic lid of the case with a nice thud sound. Personally, this pill-shaped design is what I like but that completely depends upon you, however, in terms of design, build, comfort and overall experience wise this is a nice option for budget TWS earbuds seekers.
Audio Quality
Coming to the audio part, having tested out both Nord Buds, OPPO Enco Air2 Pro and of course this new Nord Buds CE, all of these almost sound the same as they have been made by the same manufacturer. With a 13.4 mm Titanium-coated dynamic driver, it really sounds great for both everyday music sessions as well as when you are watching movies or casual Netflix sessions.
I like the fact that the sound is soothing and not too loud to the ears, also with the HeyMelody app there are different modes to fiddle with while enriching the tone as per your mood. However, it lacks features like Dolby Atmos support you have on the usual Nord Buds, still for daily music and binge watching the sound is full as well as adequate.
Also, expecting noise cancellation at this price range is tough though but with a lightweight design, and good medium to high tones, for an average user, the TWS earbuds from OnePlus will do the job.
Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, you have Bluetooth 5.2 with a 10m connectivity range, which is good to have on a budget TWS earbuds like this OnePlus Nords Buds CE. The swift connectivity because of the OnePlus Fast Pair is good and acts as a good substitute for Google Fast Pair, as soon as you open the lids of your Nord Buds CE, your smartphone is connected.
As you see, you get a wide range of options right from your Bluetooth settings if it’s a OnePlus phone, here it’s the new OnePlus 10T 5G, however, for some controls on third-party smartphones you have to download the HeyMelody app. With a lot of customizations and tweaks, you can enhance the sound along with controlling other earbuds settings.
Microphone & Call Quality
If you do end up talking a lot, is this Nord Buds CE for you? For taking frequent calls and attending meetings often you need a reliable microphone which a lot of manufacturers skip even at this price segment. However, here it is not the case because I comfortably attended a lot of calls daily and had no issues in terms of quality or even latency.
My voice at the other end also sounded accurate and so I even attended meetings with it easily but one con I found is that you cannot connect this Nord Buds CE to multiple devices at the same time, which is not the same as the regular Nord Buds. Overall, in terms of microphone and call quality, I would say I did really enjoy using this set of TWS earbuds.
Battery Life
One thing I did notice of this Nord Buds CE is that having a considerable low battery than the Nord Buds, which to be fair lasted me for a good amount of time, this one has somewhat less battery life on paper and indeed it lasted me lower than the Nord Buds (10 hours lower).
This earbuds didn’t last me for a week and I had to charge two times a week for an average user like me to use for 3-4 hours of playtime, so got around 15-17 hours of overall playtime, which is decent. Having been capped to 4 hours of playtime per earbud, I miss the 7 hours long playtime with the Nord Buds, however, I never had a lot of issues because this Nord Buds CE charges very fast.
Verdict
So should you go for this new OnePlus Nord Buds CE for a price of ₹2,299? Well, considering all the benefits that OnePlus is providing you for the price, and reliability of branded earbuds, this offers good value compared to the rest of the competition. With well-connected technology and sound quality, this Nord Buds CE is a good option for budget TWS earbuds seekers.
On sale you can eventually get it for Rs.2k and for the price, this is a real value offering which does miss some good features but is able to provide the best quality in terms of what specs it’s providing you with. For people who need a reliable TWS earbuds for everyday usage, listening to music for long hours or taking calls from your office frequently, this could easily be your next buy.
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